Discharge head for air-motivated materials



May 9, 1961 G. M. PRO

DISCHARGE HEAD FOR AIR-MOTIVATED MATERIALS Filed Nov. 10, 1958 G ll:

F I E .4.

INVENTOR. Ge Urge M PrO ATTORNEY statgs DISCHARGE HEAD son AIR-MOTIVATEDGeorge M. Pro, Leawood, assignor. to- Air Place- Eqmpmm Company, C M acore poration of Missouri i l Filed Nov. in, 195s, s r. No. 172,216@Claime. c1. 3929-59) highly useful discharge head for such materials.

Those familiar with the handling of materials normally employed inconcrete, including aggregates, or materials that are composed solely ofsand, gravel and other gritty substances, are well aware. of the.deleterious efiects that such materials have upon the equipment employedfor movement of the materials. Equipment conimonly employed for suchpurposes utilizes air as the motivating force and. in many uses andapplications it is but necessary to permit the materials to merelydischarge from the open end of the conveying tube, hose, conduit or thelike, to the pointof use. it is necessary or desirable to force thematerials through the conduits at rather high velocities, especiallywhere the materials must be elevated. By way of example, it isadvantageous to convey sand, gravel and the like from the ground to thetops of buildings for use in roofing operations and to apply suchmaterials directly and as the same emanate from the conveying tuberather than to subsequently spread the same over the hot asphalt by handthrough use of wheelbarrows and shovels.

It is accordingly the most important object of the present invention toprovide a discharge head adapted to receive the aggregate from theelevating tube and permit spreading of the same over the hot roof basewithout damage to the latter and without need for additional labor.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a dischargehead that will permit spreading of the materials'evenly over the hotasphalt, while at the same time forcing the aggregatesthereinto andprovide proper mixing, all without displacing or otherwise damaging theoftentimes, however, i

asphalt coating, and also at the same time permitting the elevation ofthe materials to the roof top at high velocities. e "A further object ofthe present invention is to provide a discharge head that incorporateswith a discharge spreading spoutor nozzle, means to absorb the shock ofthe high velocity materials, and thereby appreciably reduce the force ofthe how thereof-from the head toward the hot roofingsubstanees. i

A still further object of the present invention is to provide adischarge device oftheaforementioned character which absorbs the forceof the materials flowing thereinto from theelevating conduit and changesthe direction of fiow thereof toward, the discharge outlet all withoutappreciable damage to the component parts of thedevice so that the sameis rendered long-lasting and need not be frequentlyrepaired or replaced.

" In the drawing; i

Figfil is a side elevational view of a'discharge head for ail-motivatedmaterials madepiusuant: to' the present A Pa nted M y 9, .9

invention, illustrating the manner of operable connection thereof with amaterial=handling conduit. i

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view thereof.

Fig. 3 is'avertical, cross-sectional view taken on line 3- -3 of Fig.2'; and

Fig. 4 isia fragmentary, detailed, cross-sectional view taken on line 4-4'0f Fig. 3. The discharge device as illustrated in the drawing;includes. a hollow head broadly designated by the numeral 10. and theiorm of the head 10 chosen for illustration is essentially elongated,presenting a pairof opposed; sides 12 and 14 interconnected by a secondpair of opposed sides 16 and 18. Que end 20 of the hollow head 10 isinitially open, but the same is normally closed by a remov able lid 22provided with a handle 24 to facilitate operator manipulation ofthed'evice as will hereafter be made clear.

The side 12 of the head 10 is provided with a material i llet 2 6, and ashort, outwardly extending tube28, registeri gdirectly with the inlet 26and secured rigidly to the outer face of side 12, serves as a means ofcon necting the device with. a material supply conduit 30 as showninFig. 1. An' annulus 32 surrounding the tube 28'and rigid thereto, formsa part of a conventional quickconnect coupling 34 that serves. to attachconduit SO-to the tube 28. An outlet 36. for the materials entering thehead It) is desirably in the form'of an elongated rectangle as seen inFig. 2 and formed in a laterally" extending discharge spout "38 integralwith that end of the head-1t) opposite to the end. 20 thereof.Noteworthy is the areaate configuration of that 'part 4-0 of side 12which extends from thetube 28"intoth e spout 38 terminating at the lowerlongitudinal edge of the outlet 36. The planeof outlet 36 is.substantially parallel with the side 14, butthe illustrated slope ofsuch plane may be varied in either direction as may be desired. Aplate-like extension 42 fro mthe wall ldto the upper edge of outlet 36and forming a part of the spout 38, is angled similarly to the part 40ofside 12 and the relationship between these two portions 49. and 42 ofthe head it], is preferably such asto progressively restrict thematerial as the outlet 36 is approached. The concave, innermost face ofthe part 40 of" wall 12 'seryes] to augment free and steady flow of. thematerials from the headlti to the spout 38 and through the outlet 36.

"The wall 14 is provided with an opening 44 in direct alignment with theinlet 26, the relationship between the diameters of the inlet 26 and theopening 44' not being particularly"criticali'as will hereinafter appear.

A hollow body "4 60f any desired configuration and for the most part, ofany desired size, is attached, directly to the outer face of 'theside 14of head it) in alignment with the opening 44. V The body 46 chosen forillustration has an annular aide wall 48 coaxial with the opening 44 andthe inlet 26 and closed by an end .wall 50 having a diameter that is geater than the inlet 26 and greater than the ini ial diameter ofopening44. The wall 50 is pref- .erably' parallel with the side 14 andspa-cedtherefrom a distance commensurate with the types of materials tor be handled andthe velocities at which the same discharge in thehandling of aggregate making of roofs for buildings. Heretofore it hasbeen commonpractice to elevate the materials to the roof top in amechanical manner and thereupon spreadthe same on the hot tar, asphaltor thelike, by hand through use of shovels. For the most part, suchreinforcing materials would, through conventional methods, merelycoatthe tar and not particularly strengthen the samebybecoming deeplyembedded thereinto. Eurtl 1erm ore, it has been difficult to obtain'aneven coating and, in the operation itself, damage to the tar and papertherebeneath would occur from time to time because of the necessity ofmoving wheelbarrows over the roof to convey theaggregates to points ofspreading.

Through use of the device of the instant invention, the aggregates mayberaised to the roof top through use of an, air blast and thereupon spreadfrom the device without any intermediate labor-consuming operation. Itis to be pointed out however, that in order to raise the material fromground level, particularly to great heights, it is essential that theblast of air be sufficient to force the aggregates through the conduit30v at extremely high velocities. Consequently, as the aggregatesemanate from the conduit 30, it would be virtually impossible to spreadthe same without disrupting the hot tar or damaging theunderlying'paper. In other words, therelatively heavy aggregate shouldnot be forced against the tarand paper in the manner of a sandblastingoperation. a

It is to be noted, however, particularly in Fig. 3, that the materialsflowing into tube 28 and thence'into head 10 through inlet 26, projectacross the head 10 and into the body 46 by way of opening 44. Almostimmediately such materials collect within and virtually fill the body46, whereupon the blast is against the material content of the body 46and the shock is almost completely absorbed. Thereafter, with thevelocity appreciably reduced and almost completely absorbed, thematerials flow from within the body 46, back through the opening 44 intothe head It or from adjacent the opening 44 toward the spout 38. By thetime such materials reach the outlet 36, the velocity has been reducedsufficiently that when the materials impinge or fall onto the hotasphalt base, they penetrate the latter rather deeply and provide ahomogeneous mass that is uniformly reinforced with the aggregateParticles.

In practical use, it is suggested that the operator carry the head 10 asby use of the handle 2.4, with the hose or conduit 30 trailing andhandled by another workman. The direction of pointing of the outlet 36remains optional and, therefore, the operator is able to adjust somewhatthe force of the materials onto the hottar. In this respect, the head 10may be held in the position illustrated inthe drawing with the spout 38directed downwardly and forwardly, or the operator maytip the head 10 toany desired-position with the materials flowing vertically from theoutlet 36 or even with the spout 38 pointed up: wardly so that thematerials emanating from the outlet 36, lose still more velocity priorto gravitating to the roof In any event, the advantages of'following theapplica tion of a substance having thermoplastic propertiessuch materialsuch as sand, gravel, V chat and the like, or similar substancesemployed in the of a wavy surface with areas of differing thicknesses asis quite common when conventional roof-producing methods are employed.

The rings 52 permit use of a relatively shallow body 46, as well as onehaving a relatively small diameter in the wall 48. It can be seen thatasthe materials initially flow into the body 46 and tend to packtherewithin, the rings 52 tend to prevent the return flow of suchmaterial content from the body 46 to the head 10 by way of opening 44.The materials collect and pack in and around the rings 52 and the impactof the continued flow does not drive or force the material content ofbody 46 therea from.

as hot tar rather closely are quite apparent audit is seen also that thepattern emanating from;the,,ontlet.36 is such as to provide a uniformcoating and admixture. A substantial saving 'in aggregate; themaking'ofa better roof, the elimination of additional andbulkierequipment; the intime and labor, and the continuous processofmakin'g the roof, are some ofthe; many other advanrages a po i e h oghus q the disch r ed device of-the.instant'invention.j" i-- In actualuse, it can'bie seen;thatrthematerialsboil from the outlet 36 and when:the sametstrike, t ee-. 01 bitumen, such as asphalt or-otherhydrocarbon, there is acomplete absence of .a1ligatoring,;i:e., theformation Another important factor has to do with the way in which theshock-absorbing or cushioning structure which includes a body 46, savesthe entire device from damage and need for repair or replacement. Thecutting and abrasive action of the aggregate materials act upon thematerial content of the body 46 and. do not,therefore, cut away andperforate any of the components of the device 10 in a deleteriousmanner. In this respect, it is manifest that some of the materials willact upon the inner face of side 14, especially around .the opening 44tending to enlarge the latter, but this damage does ,not adverselyaifect the operation of the device as above described, and for thatreason, the initial size of the opening44 is unimportant because thematerials themselves will produce an opening of a size commensurate withthe cross-sectional area of the material pattern as it reaches the wall14 and flows into the body 46. t V v The elongated material outlet 36 isimportant to the method because it permits discharge of the lowervelocity material continuously in a spray that has a controlled,relatively thin concentrated pattern which fans outwardly away from thedischarge outlet 36. This is to be preferred over the uncontrollablescattering in a haphazard manner through use of shovels as hasheretofore been the practice. The base of easily penetrable substanceinto which the aggregates are forced, therefore become thoroughly anduniformly impregnated with the aggregate in a homogeneous mass and thebulk of the aggregate does not merely congeal within the base in a layerthat is essentially adjacent the surface of the base.

Through use of the device 10, one is better able to carry out a methodof building roofs utilizing air as the high velocity means for elevatingthe aggregate and constructing a roof employing a base of an initiallyviscid roofing substance which becomes congealed and hardened with theparticulate materials for reinforcement and other purposes.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A discharge device for aggregate materials motivated by air at highvelocities, said device comprising a hollow head provided with amaterial inlet and a material outlet, said head having an openingtherethrough in alignment with said inlet; and a hollowmaterial-receiving body mounted on said head at points thereon spacedfrom said opening in communicationwith the latter for absorbing theforce of the materials prior to discharge through said outlet. I 2. Adischarge device for aggregate materials motivated by air at highvelocities, said device comprising a hollow head provided with amaterial inlet and a material outlet, the inlet being disposed out ofalignment with the outlet, said head having an opening therethrough inalign ment with said inlet; and a hollow material-receiving body mountedon said head at points thereon'spaced from said opening in communicationwith the latter for absorbing the force of the materials and changingthedirection of flow thereof prior to discharge through said outlet.

3. A discharge device for aggregate materials motivated by air at highvelocities, said device comprising a hollow head provided witha'material inlet and'a material outlet, the inletbeing disposed out ofalignment with the outlet, said head having an opening therethrough inalignment with said inlet; and a hollow material-receiving body mountedon said head at points thereon spaced from said opening in communicationwith the latter, said body being disposed, during normal use of thedevice, to collect a quantity of said materials therein whereby thecontent thereof absorbs the force of the materials and changes thedirection of flow thereof prior to discharge through said outlet.

4. A discharge device for aggregate materials motivated by air at highvelocities, said device comprising a hollow head provided with amaterial inlet and a material outlet, the inlet being disposed out ofalignment with the outlet, said head having an opening therethrough inalignment with said inlet; and a hollow material-receiving body mountedon said head at points thereon spaced from said opening in communicationwith the latter, said body being disposed, during normal use of thedevice, to collect a quantity of said materials therein whereby thecontent thereof absorbs the fo'rce of the materials and changes thedirection of flow thereof prior to discharge through said outlet; andmeans in said body for augmenting the material-collectingcharacteristics thereof.

5. The invention of claim 4, said head having a pair of ends and a pairof sides, the inlet being in one side, the outlet being in one end, andsaid body communicating with the opening through the other side.

6. A discharge device for aggregate materials motivated by air at highvelocities, said device comprising a hollow head having a pair of endsand a pair of opposed sides, one of said sides being provided with amaterial inlet, there being an opening in the other side in directalignment with said inlet, one of the ends having a material outlet; anda hollow body secured to the head exteriorly thereof at points thereonspaced from said opening in communication with the latter for receivingand collecting a quantity of said materials, whereby the materialcontent of the body absorbs the force of the materials emanating fromthe inlet and the direction of movement of said materials is changed forflow at a reduced velocity through the outlet.

7. The invention of claim 6, and structure within said body tending tohold said material content of the body against flow therefrom to thehead through said opening.

8. The invention of claim 7, said structure comprising a plurality ofrings having ports aligned with said openmg.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS610,066 Kuser Aug. 30, 1898 1,279,804 Welcker Sept. 24, 1918 1,438,996Griffin Dec. 19, 1922 FOREIGN PATENTS 82,179 Austria Mar. 15, 1920259,510 Great Britain Oct. 14, 1926

